Inspector (Gender unspecified).
Emperor’s direct appointee and, as an inspector, has immense power despite a low rank.
The clerk in front of him looked younger than in the original work, but he was definitely the inspector who had been cleaning up after the princess’s accident.
“一 So, you destroyed a high-ranking official’s mansion to catch The Shadowless Thief? You broke all those centuries-old fine porcelain? Why? Do you dislike me or something? Ha ha ha…
“一 If there’s nowhere to hide, they’ll pop out, huh? Wow, that’s a very princess-like solution. Sigh. Alright. I’ll deal with it somehow.
The problem was that the person I had to manage was quite the character, which basically meant I was in the position of a suffering low-level official.
‘No way the princess is nearby, right?’
I had no desire to become an extra caught in the golden tempest. If there was a natural disaster warning on the weather forecast, I’d better run fast.
I hurriedly looked around.
“Ho Pil, who are you looking for?”
The Head of the Right Guards asked me, scanning the area anxiously.
Not here. Time to test my luck.
“I thought I saw a stunning beauty, you know.”
If she seemed like she might act impulsively, the Head of the Right Guards might not react, but the inspector would have to.
“A beauty in the government office? Are they throwing a party with courtesans today? Can’t be. You must have been mistaken.”
Both of them seemed completely oblivious.
“I must be seeing things since I’ve been so tired lately.”
Emergency red alert disengaged. Switching to yellow alert.
“Tsk, tsk. You’ve been suffering a lot lately. I understand. I’ll wrap this up quickly, so follow me to the office.”
I nodded and secretly glanced at the inspector as he walked behind the Head of the Right Guards.
‘In the original, the princess appeared only after running away, so he might not actually be the princess’s inspector yet.’
No matter if he was the emperor’s loyal servant or had connections with the princess, it was only after she jumped into the world that he’d need to clean up the mess. For now, he should just be a typical inspector.
‘Why is he impersonating a clerk?’
The inspector in front of me seemed to be the one I’d be asking the Head of the Right Guards to give me a heads-up about.
The Head of the Right Guards looked like he realized the identity of the inspector, so maybe it was because of me.
Was there really a reason for him to meet me while posing as a clerk? I needed to quickly piece together the situation.
Ah-ha. I got it.
A small smirk crept onto my face. I currently needed the inspector’s help.
If played right, maybe I could turn the situation to my advantage.
“Hah, the Head of the Branch! It’s all your fault that the Head of the Branch is! Cough!”
I dramatically portrayed the last moments of the Head of the Branch as if I were a mourning general from the Three Kingdoms, collapsing from high blood pressure.
“Who knew Ho Pil had such talent. I could make use of you for storytelling.”
The inspector and the Head of the Right Guards marveled at my display, each adding their comments.
“Really! This is more entertaining than any storyteller I’ve seen! What happened next?”
Especially the inspector reacted positively, as if I had performed the Donation Technique and would have robbed them even if I had to create a debt note.
He really seemed to hate the Head of the Branch. Was the rumor that he almost got dismissed after exposing the Head of the Branch’s corruption true?
“The Head of the Branch is still bedridden. And…”
Now that the story was over, it was time to execute the plan I’d prepared.
I deliberately dragged out my words while slowly shifting the gaze from the Head of the Right Guards to the inspector.
“There’s actually something I can’t say. It feels like it’s right at the tip of my tongue, but it’s hard to spill it out,” I maintained eye contact with the inspector for a few seconds, expressing the difficulty.
“And? What else is there?”
The inspector, looking frustrated that I wasn’t speaking openly, questioned me.
“That’s it. There’s nothing else to report.”
Meaning there are things I can’t report, got it?
I was itching to say something. But how could I tell some clerk? No way. It had to be someone of the inspector’s caliber.
I pulled a face like someone who considered a silly thought before retracting it and sat down.
“Seems like Ho Pil is really struggling these days. Should I send over some herbal medicine for you?”
“I’m fine. I wouldn’t want to show any signs of struggling while handling national affairs.”
“Indeed, that’s Ho Pil! Ah! Clerk Jung! Have you written everything down?”
“What do you mean? Ah!”
On the desk of the inspector, who was referred to as Clerk Jung, there was a half-written blank page.
“I have business to attend to, so I’ll excuse myself. Ho Pil, feel free to let me know next time you come to report. If you’re tired, go home.”
If it were the Head of the Right Guards, he would have scolded the clerk, but he could say nothing to an inspector appointed by imperial order.
The Head of the Right Guards gave a bitter smile and left the office.
“Ho Pil, I apologize.”
The inspector looked at me with an apologetic expression.
“It’s alright. I thought I needed to convey things vividly, so I may have gotten carried away, too.”
“If you start from the beginning, I’ll summarize it.”
“You should probably write it from the start, though.”
If we were to compare it with an epic space saga, I would only have gotten to “In a distant galaxy a long time ago…”
“If you tell me again, I might be able to create an even better report. You know, I couldn’t say it to the Head of the Right Guards, but I could share some things with a lowly clerk like myself.”
Bait hit a good reaction.
The inspector likely thought he was testing me, but I was just gleefully consuming the bait I had thrown.
“Are you talking about what I failed to mention at the end today?”
“Yes, just that.”
“If you want to hear more, you should come formally to introduce yourself next time.”
To make the inspector move as I wished, I had to induce urgency within him.
This was all that needed to be done today. I stood up from my seat.
“What did you just say?”
“I’ll be taking my leave now, Inspector.”
I turned toward the inspector, whose expression had suddenly stiffened, with a meaningful smile.
“……How? Where are you going?”
“Ah! To Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes.”
I looked back at the inspector, who hurriedly rose from his seat, as I turned at the door.
“What?”
“It would be nice if you read Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes before you come next time. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Wait a moment!”
Curious, are we? If you want to know, then do your homework first.
*
“Head of the Right Guards! Did you perhaps inform Ho Pil of my identity beforehand?”
The inspector asked the Head of the Right Guards after Kang Yoon-ho had left.
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Then how on earth… No, maybe it’s fine. Let’s see.”
Had they met somewhere before? A black-haired Ho Pil should be memorable. After all, he was newly appointed.
Moreover, he himself had kept to the branch office since the incident with the Head of the Branch and had not met anyone.
The inspector couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation.
Hearing that the man he hated was in trouble and then finding himself in such a situation…
That black-haired Ho Pil was hiding something. But since he was concealing his own identity as well, he couldn’t press him for answers.
“Inspector, you’ve arrived. Looks like things were rather dull for you.”
As the inspector stepped into the room with a troubled expression, the clerk made an educated guess and spoke.
“Clerk, do you know Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes?”
What on earth was Ho Pil hiding? The inspector asked the clerk about the clues he had heard from Kang Yoon-ho.
“Nowadays, who doesn’t know about Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes in Wuhan? Everyone is in a frenzy trying to get the new volumes.”
“That much, huh? I’m indifferent to such stories, though.”
“Indifferent to stories? This is the magnum opus of Ho Pil! How can you call it a mere novel?”
The inspector was taken aback as Clerk Jung, who usually didn’t get mad at him, scolded him with a book in hand.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I stood in line all day yesterday to buy this Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes! Ho Pil was slandered as some writer of lowly novels and proved himself by stripping the color from Colored Heroic Stories! How can you call it a mere novel?”
The clerk, as a new member of the Tea and Book Club, was unwilling to let this slide. Of course, this fact wasn’t significant to the inspector.
“How much did you buy this for?”
The inspector snatched the entire Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes set from the clerk’s hand.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll buy it from you at that price.”
Would the inspector end up in prison if he dealt like this? The clerk seriously pondered over it.
“Master Kang! A young official has come to visit!”
I thought it would take a long time, but he couldn’t last a day. The inspector had come early in the morning and entered the guest room, led by the attendant.
“Welcome. I’ll bring some tea.”
I needed to maneuver the inspector to fit my designs.
No matter if the inspector had a friendship with the princess or might eventually become her inspector, or was deeply loyal to the emperor, for now, he was just someone I needed to draw into my plan.
I guided him to a seat with a friendly smile.
“How did you know?”
However, the inspector glared at me with a stiff face, as if he wouldn’t sit down until his question was resolved.
“What are you talking about?”
“About me being the inspector.”
“Does that matter?”
“If you can’t prove it, our next conversation might take place somewhere else than this mansion.”
What kind of imaginations had he brought along? Or did he mean to snatch the secret ledger by any means necessary?
It didn’t matter. What mattered was why I was called Ho Pil, and proving my abilities was all that counted.
“I realized you weren’t a clerk the moment I saw you.”
Like a detective sitting comfortably in an armchair, I began speaking.
“How?”
“The tips of your fingers. The fingers of a clerk who writes all day with inkbrush will always have ink on them.”
“This morning. Why can’t you think I washed them clean and came to work?”
The inspector countered, looking at his clean fingers.
“No matter how thoroughly you wash, it’s tough to be mindful of underneath your nails. So the nails of clerks often look like a body cultivating Poison Technique.”
“Look at your fingers. They’re clean, probably from drinking all the time. You haven’t touched ink since you cut your nails.”
“Even if I realized you weren’t a clerk, I couldn’t deduce that you are the inspector.”
The inspector reluctantly nodded, but still made another argument.
“There’s a smell of alcohol wafting from you.”
“Alcohol smell? It’s not unusual for officials to drink the night before.”
“It’s a problem when a young official walks in reeking of alcohol. Who would dare challenge me? I walked in straight-backed, and no one dared say a word, even the older officials tried to avoid the inspector.”
“……Continue.”
“For someone in a high position, you’re too young. You can’t be a senior official but have a position that still commands respect. You’re a man with reason to impersonate a clerk. The choices quickly narrow down.”
“…….”
In that brief moment, could he really figure it out? The look of sheer shock crossed the inspector’s face.
In truth, I knew his identity. I just guessed and pieced things together.
“Why would such a man take interest in me? Is it because of The Shadowless Thief? Or perhaps because of why I visited the office today? There are still choices left. I lack evidence. When needing to narrow down options like this, what do I need to do?”
I engaged in a Q&A format to naturally draw answers from the inspector.
“……You spoke like a storyteller to gauge my reaction, didn’t you?”
Got him. I could see admiration flicker in the inspector’s eyes.
“You hate the Head of the Branch like an enemy and aren’t a senior official, but you have a position that even senior officials fear. As far as I know, there is only one such official in the Wuhan office.”
The truth is always just one!
So, what do you think? Will you concede this much? I smiled broadly, awaiting the inspector’s response.
The inspector looked at me, jaw dropped in surprise for some time, then slowly lowered his head.
“I apologize for my rudeness. I thought Ho Pil was merely a rumor. Turns out I underestimated you.”
The inspector acknowledged my deductions with genuine admiration.
“It’s just a small fame. In reality, I’m merely a merchant temporarily acting as Ho Pil amid the chaos in Wuhan.”
In truth, I knew his identity and just wrapped around it.
“Let’s make a formal introduction. An inspector appointed by the emperor, Jung Mun-won.”
—-
“I’ll bring you some tea. Would you like a specific kind?”
“Anything will do. What I really want is something different.”
“Did you read Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes?”
“I did. I thought it was an ordinary novel, but it was nothing like that. It was engaging enough that I didn’t want to drink for a while.”
“Then you must know what kind of sensitive story is behind it.”
I observed the inspector’s reaction as I drank the tea served by Im Ha-yeon.
Could it be real? Was my assumption accurate? What if I was wrong? In that brief moment, hope, hesitation, and eagerness flitted across the inspector’s eyes endlessly.
After barely sipping the cup of tea, Jung Mun-won sighed and asked me.
“……Did The Shadowless Thief give you the Head of the Branch’s secret ledger?”
“Yes.”
“Really?! How?!”
“The Shadowless Thief seemed to have taken a liking to me.”
Did he think I was unhyun? I added blandly.
“……What do you plan to do with it?”
The inspector’s eyes shone with hope and an opportunity for revenge. He was practically begging for it. The look on his face was so transparent.
I might give it to him, but—
Simply giving it wouldn’t help me achieve my goals.
‘I need to use the inspector as I wish.’
Even if I handed over the secret ledger, I shouldn’t be suspected or put in danger.
I needed to ensure he would willingly admit it was thanks to The Shadowless Thief after accepting the secret ledger without issue.
The secret ledger was a lure with a hook.
If he realized what I was offering, I had to make the inspector take the bait.
So—
“I intend to burn it.”
“What?!”
Now, let the bargain begin.
